Tired of airports, I recently opted for the overnight train from Rome to Paris (393 euros – about $511 for ticket and single compartment, raileurope .com). It was icy cold when I disembarked at Gare de Lyon on a bright, clear Sunday morning, with daytime temperatures dipping into the 40s. The City of Light has its pleasures any time of year. The most obvious in March is the lack of tourists. Hotels offer deals, restaurants don't always need reservations, and French is more commonly heard in a city that can swell with more than 1 million visitors a day during peak summer periods.

My Paris pit stop was just two nights, but I had a chance to make a few discoveries and visit old haunts. Here are some thoughts and tips on Paris I wanted to pass along before I made my way to Gare du Nord for the Thalys train to Brussels.

• Check out Rive Gauche Hotels, a small chain of three-star (and one four-star) hotels on the Left Bank. When business gets slow, they offer last-minute discounts of more than 50 percent. Normally, you can't book the deals more than three days in advance. I had a nice room (despite some bothersome construction noise next door) at Hotel des Grands Hommes across the street from the Pantheon. The price: 109 euros ($142) per night for a classic room with a deep bathtub. The standard rates start at about 220 euros ($286).

• See Notre Dame cathedral from a new perspective for a limited time. To mark the yearlong celebration of the 850th anniversary of the great church, bleachers were erected in December in the plaza in front of the church. Though controversial – some critics say they take away from the experience of approaching the church – they offer an elevated look at the front of the church never before available to the average visitor. I enjoyed sitting on the bleachers and gazing at the great face of French Catholicism. For more on the anniversary, go to notredamedeparis2013.com.

• Sometimes the beaten path is that way for a reason. Le Train Bleu, the 112-year-old gilded dining room in the Gare de Lyon train station, is the greatest restaurant in any airport, train station, port facility or bus terminal in the world. It's a place where black-coated waiters and rolling luggage peacefully coexist. There's even a TGV Special, which promises to serve your entire meal within 45 minutes if you are hurrying to catch the high-speed train to Lyon or Avignon. Expect to pay 40 euros ($52) a person before wine. It's a splurge worth saving for. I was able to make same-day lunch reservations through the restaurant's website, le-train-bleu.com. Or from Paris, call 01-43-43-09-06

• This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Montparnasse Tower, the banal skyscraper that casts a long shadow across the former bohemian district in the heart of the Left Bank. Tourism officials are trying to play up the event, but not me. To borrow a phrase from Britain's Prince Charles, it is like an ugly carbuncle on the face of an old friend. The tower is the biggest mistake in Parisian city planning in the past century. And with the dismal Les Halles development as competition, that is saying something. For the propaganda version, go to tourmontparnasse56.com.

• Favorite shopping find: Copies of medieval pilgrims' purses for about 25 euros ($32) at the gift shop of Sainte-Chapelle, the 13th-century king's chapel on Ile de la Cite. Meant to hide coins in secret compartments under garments of those traveling to shrines, the leather copies come in the shape of a walnut, seashell and, my favorite, a heart. Because of the hook at the top, they work as large key-chain wallets for the modern era. 8 Boulevard du Palais.

• There are few sights as spectacular as the early-evening view from the esplanade of the Palais de Challiot, looking across the River Seine when the lights come on the Eiffel Tower. The icon basks in a warm, golden-brown glow against the last bit of blue sky, then suddenly comes alive with a brief sparkling light show that always brings gasps from the crowd. Searchlights at the top give it an otherworldly look, while sightseers can just make out the skaters on the winter season ice rink constructed on a midtower observation deck. Metro stop: Trocadero.

• Though hotels and restaurants are uniformly nonsmoking indoors, it's still a shock to see how many people are smoking in Paris. A long, very thin white cigarette is still considered a chic look to go along with boots, jeans, black coats and scarves. Most depressing is the number of under-20s puffing away around the Latin Quarter and the trendy shops of the Marais.

• Favorite restaurant find: Au Port du Salut, a small bistro near the Pantheon at 163 Rue St.-Jacques in the Left Bank. The nearest Metros are Odeon or Luxembourg. I was charmed when I walked in to see the walls lined with wine bottles, and playing in the background was "All I Do the Whole Night Through is Dream of You" from the soundtrack of "Singin' in the Rain." For 40 euros ($52), I enjoyed squash soup, pork cheek with silky mash potatoes and a classic crème brûlée. Wine was extra, with a knockout Bordeaux that cost $11 per 15 centiliter glass (about 5 ounces). Check it out at auportsalut.com or in Paris call 01-46-33-63-21.

Paris is filled with neighborhood restaurants in Montparnasse. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A visitor to the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris takes a picture of the front of the Paris landmark. To mark the year-long celebration of the 850th anniversary of the great church, bleachers were erected in December in the plaza in front of the church. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A visitor walks through the walks through the pillars at the Pantheon in Paris. The Pantheon was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A slack liner practices in the area near the Eiffel Tower in Paris. MICHAEL GOULDING., ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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